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- Årestedt, Kristofer, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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Symptom relief and palliative care during the last week of life among patients with heart failure : a national register study
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Palliative Medicine. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 1096-6218 .- 1557-7740. ; 21:3, s. 361-367
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Heart failure is a disease with high morbidity, mortality, and physical and psychological burden. More knowledge about the care provided for patients with heart failure close to death is needed.OBJECTIVE: The aim was to describe key aspects of palliative care during the last week of life in patients with heart failure, as reported by healthcare professionals.DESIGN: This is a national register study.SETTING/SUBJECTS: The study included 3981 patients with diagnosed heart failure as the underlying cause of death.MEASUREMENTS: Data were obtained from the Swedish Register of Palliative Care, a national quality register that focuses on patients' last week of life, independent of diagnosis or care setting. The register includes information about care interventions connected with key aspects of palliative care. Data are reported retrospectively by a nurse or physician at the healthcare unit where the patient dies.RESULTS: Only 4.2% of patients with heart failure received specialized palliative care. In their last week of life, symptom prevalence was high, validated scales were seldom used, and symptoms were unsatisfactorily relieved. Around one-fifth (17%) of the patients in the study died alone. Less than half of family members had been offered bereavement support (45%). Moreover, one-third (28%) of the patients and more than half (61%) of the family members were reported to have had end-of-life discussions with a physician during the illness trajectory.CONCLUSION: The results indicate inadequate palliative care for patients with heart failure during their last week of life.
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- Almroth, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Atorvastatin and persistent atrial fibrillation following cardioversion : a randomized placebo-controlled multicentre study
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Heart Journal. - Philadelphia : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0195-668X .- 1522-9645. ; 30:7, s. 827-833
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: To evaluate the effect of atorvastatin in achieving stable sinus rhythm (SR) 30 days after electrical cardioversion (CV) in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS AND RESULTS: The study included 234 patients. The patients were randomized to treatment with atorvastatin 80 mg daily (n = 118) or placebo (n = 116) in a prospective, double-blinded fashion. Treatment was initiated 14 days before CV and was continued 30 days after CV. The two groups were well-balanced with respect to baseline characteristics. Mean age was 65 +/- 10 years, 76% of the patients were male and 4% had ischaemic heart disease. Study medication was well-tolerated in all patients but one. Before primary endpoint 12 patients were excluded. In the atorvastatin group 99 patients (89%) converted to SR at electrical CV compared with 95 (86%) in the placebo group (P = 0.42). An intention-to-treat analysis with the available data, by randomization group, showed that 57 (51%) in the atorvastatin group and 47 (42%) in the placebo group were in SR 30 days after CV (OR 1.44, 95%CI 0.85-2.44, P = 0.18). CONCLUSION: Atorvastatin was not statistically superior to placebo with regards to maintaining SR 30 days after CV in patients with persistent AF.
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- Eriksson, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Accuracy of death certificates of cardiovascular disease in a community intervention in Sweden.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 41:8, s. 883-889
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: The aim was to investigate the possibility to evaluate the mortality pattern in a community intervention programme against cardiovascular disease by official death certificates.Methods: For all deceased in the intervention area (Norsjö), the accuracy of the official death certificates were compared with matched controls in the rest of Västerbotten. The official causes of death were compared with new certificates, based on the last clinical record, issued by three of the authors, and coded by one of the authors, all four accordingly blinded.Results: The degree of agreement between the official underlying causes of death in "cardiovascular disease" (CVD) and the re-evaluated certificates was not found to differ between Norsjö and the rest of Västerbotten. The agreement was 87% and 88% at chapter level, respectively, but only 55% and 55% at 4-digit level, respectively. The reclassification resulted in a 1% decrease of "cardiovascular deaths" in both Norsjö and the rest of Västerbotten.Conclusions: The disagreements in the reclassification of cause of death were equal but large in both directions. The official death certificates should be used with caution to evaluate CVD in small community intervention programmes, and restricted to the chapter level and total populations.
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- Olofsson, Mona, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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Characteristics and management of very elderly patients with heart failure : a retrospective, population cohort study
- 2023
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Ingår i: ESC Heart Failure. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2055-5822. ; 10:1, s. 295-302
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: Unmet needs exist in the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure (HF) in the elderly population. Our aim was to analyse and compare data of diagnostics and management of very elderly patients (aged ≥85 years) compared with younger patients (aged 18–84 years) with HF in Sweden.Methods: Incidence of ≥2 HF diagnosis (ICD-10) was identified from primary/secondary care in Uppsala and Västerbotten during 2010–2015 via electronic medical records linked to data from national health registers. Analyses investigated the diagnosis, treatment patterns, hospitalizations and outpatient visits, and mortality.Results: Of 8702 patients, 27.7% were ≥85 years old, women (60.2%); most patients (80.7%) had unknown left ventricular ejection fraction; key co-morbidities comprised anaemia, dementia, and cerebrovascular disease. More very elderly patients received cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related management after diagnosis in primary care (13.6% vs. 6.5%; P < 0.0001), but fewer patients underwent echocardiography (19.3% vs. 42.9%; P < 0.0001). Within 1 year of diagnosis, very elderly patients were less likely to be hospitalized (all-cause admissions per patient: 1.9 vs. 2.3; P < 0.0001; CVD-related admissions per patient: 1.8 vs. 2.1; P = 0.0004) or prescribed an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) plus a β-blocker (45.2% vs. 56.9%; P < 0.0001) or an ACEI/ARB plus a β-blocker plus a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (15.4% vs. 31.7%; P < 0.0001). One-year mortality was high in patients ≥85 years old, 30.5% (CI: 28.3-32.7%) out of 1797 patients.Conclusions: Despite the large number of very elderly patients with newly diagnosed HF in Sweden, poor diagnostic work-up and subsequent treatment highlight the inequality of care in this vulnerable population.
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- Warensjö, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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Biomarkers of milk fat and the risk of myocardial infarction in men and women : a prospective, matched case-control study
- 2010
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Ingår i: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9165 .- 1938-3207. ; 92:1, s. 194-202
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: High intakes of saturated fat have been associated with cardiovascular disease, and milk fat is rich in saturated fat. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the serum milk fat biomarkers pentadecanoic acid (15:0), heptadecanoic acid (17:0), and their sum (15:0+17:0) and a first myocardial infarction (MI). Design: The study design was a prospective case-control study nested within a large population- based cohort in Sweden. Included in the study were 444 cases (307 men) and 556 controls (308 men) matched on sex, age, date of examination, and geographic region. Clinical, anthropometric, biomarker fatty acid, physical activity, and dietary data were collected. The odds of a first MI were investigated by using conditional logistic regression. Results: In women, proportions of milk fat biomarkers in plasma phospholipids were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in controls than in cases and were, in general, negatively, albeit weakly, correlated with risk factors for metabolic syndrome. The crude standardized odds ratios of becoming an MI case were 0.74 (95% CI: 0.58, 0.94) in women and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.77, 1.1) in men. After multivariable adjustment for confounders, the inverse association remained in both sexes and was significant in women. In agreement with biomarker data, quartiles of reported intake of cheese (men and women) and fermented milk products (men) were inversely related to a first MI (P for trend < 0.05 for all). Conclusions: Milk fat biomarkers were associated with a lower risk of developing a first MI, especially in women. This was partly confirmed in analysis of fermented milk and cheese intake. Components of metabolic syndrome were observed as potential intermediates for the risk relations. Am J Clin Nutr 2010; 92:194-202.
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- Alvariza, Anette, et al.
(författare)
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Family members' experiences of integrated palliative advanced home and heart failure care : a qualitative study of the PREFER intervention
- 2018
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Ingår i: Palliative & Supportive Care. - New York : Cambridge University Press. - 1478-9515 .- 1478-9523. ; 16:3, s. 278-285
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Chronic heart failure is a disease with high morbidity and symptom burden for patients, and it also places great demands on family members. Patients with heart failure should have access to palliative care for the purpose of improving quality of life for both patients and their families. In the PREFER randomized controlled intervention, patients with New York Heart Association classes III-IV heart failure received person-centered care with a multidisciplinary approach involving collaboration between specialists in palliative and heart failure care. The aim of the present study was to describe family members' experiences of the intervention, which integrated palliative advanced home and heart failure care.METHOD: This study had a qualitative descriptive design based on family member interviews. Altogether, 14 family members participated in semistructured interviews for evaluation after intervention completion. The data were analyzed by means of content analysis.RESULTS: Family members expressed gratitude and happiness after witnessing the patient feeling better due to symptom relief and empowerment. They also felt relieved and less worried, as they were reassured that the patient was being cared for properly and that their own responsibility for care was shared with healthcare professionals. However, some family members also felt as though they were living in the shadow of severe illness, without receiving any support for themselves.SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Several benefits were found for family members from the PREFER intervention, and our results indicate the significance of integrated palliative advanced home and heart failure care. However, in order to improve this intervention, psychosocial professionals should be included on the intervention team and should contribute by paying closer attention and providing targeted support for family members.
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